Richard Wagner

Composer

Birthday May 22, 1813

Birth Sign Gemini

Birthplace Leipzig, Germany

DEATH DATE Feb 13, 1883 (69)

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About

Theatre director, polemicist, and conductor known for his operas and music dramas. His "Tristan und Isolde" presaged modern music.

Before Fame

He attended an 1829 performance by famed dramatic soprano Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, and he would credit her with inspiring his sense of music and drama and how they could be most effectively used in opera.

Trivia

He constructed the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, his own opera house where many of his stage works, such as "The Ring Cycle" and "Parsifal," premiered.

Family Life

He was married to Christine Wilhelmine Minna Planer on November 24, 1836, and later to Cosima Liszt on August 25, 1870.

Associated With

He was Adolf Hitler's favorite composer and was often cited by Hitler as being an inspiration on his vision for Germany.